Termination of rights vs. Standard custody filing

toricerda · 02-26-2015, 10:28 PM

Hi,

I need advice on whether to file standard custody paperwork or file for Termination of Parental Rights. Here are the details.

My 9 year old's father has never been involved, never paid child support or had any visitation. He has not even seen my child in almost 9 years and has no phone contact either. We were never married, but he did sign the birth certificate.

The father is now in prison for a parole violation. He was previously convicted for production of meth and then was busted for possession of fire arms in Oklahoma. We live in California.

I thought you could only file for termination if there was a step parent who wanted to adopt, but a friend stated she was in a similar situation and her attorney filed for termination for her. There is a step parent who would agree to adopt if necessary, but I would prefer to not have to do that.

I can of course file regularly for full custody, but I would like to know if it would be better to file for termination. Is there a difference in how lengthy the process is between the two?

Thanks for the help

rhinojd · 02-27-2015, 04:12 PM

Full termination will likely be more trouble than it's worth particularly if he is in custody. You will likely obtain sole physical custody, but joint legal custody, which just means if there is some decision that comes up he has a say.

This is often better than having sole legal custody, because if something happens to you it is better to have someone around to avoid foster care etc.

Basically I would file for sole physical custody and joint legal custody that way there is no fight. You could likely win custody in a termination hearing, but that will be a huge fight stress, costs, etc, which will put you in the same spot as sole physical custody.

To sum it up you can get to the same spot of having your child in your care at all times by taking the quick and easy route, or the long, costly, and adversarial route.

As an FYI here are articles regarding custody and parental rights termination. http://www.legalmatch.com/law-librar...al-rights.html

http://www.legalmatch.com/law-librar...isitation.html

toricerda · 03-25-2015, 09:33 AM

Thanks so much for the help 😊

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02-26-2015, 10:28 PM	#1 (permalink)
toricerda Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2015 Posts: 2	Termination of rights vs. Standard custody filing Hi, I need advice on whether to file standard custody paperwork or file for Termination of Parental Rights. Here are the details. My 9 year old's father has never been involved, never paid child support or had any visitation. He has not even seen my child in almost 9 years and has no phone contact either. We were never married, but he did sign the birth certificate. The father is now in prison for a parole violation. He was previously convicted for production of meth and then was busted for possession of fire arms in Oklahoma. We live in California. I thought you could only file for termination if there was a step parent who wanted to adopt, but a friend stated she was in a similar situation and her attorney filed for termination for her. There is a step parent who would agree to adopt if necessary, but I would prefer to not have to do that. I can of course file regularly for full custody, but I would like to know if it would be better to file for termination. Is there a difference in how lengthy the process is between the two? Thanks for the help

03-25-2015, 09:33 AM	#3 (permalink)
toricerda Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2015 Posts: 2	Thanks Thanks so much for the help 😊

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02-27-2015, 04:12 PM	#2 (permalink)
rhinojd Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Posts: 326	Full termination will likely be more trouble than it's worth particularly if he is in custody. You will likely obtain sole physical custody, but joint legal custody, which just means if there is some decision that comes up he has a say. This is often better than having sole legal custody, because if something happens to you it is better to have someone around to avoid foster care etc. Basically I would file for sole physical custody and joint legal custody that way there is no fight. You could likely win custody in a termination hearing, but that will be a huge fight stress, costs, etc, which will put you in the same spot as sole physical custody. To sum it up you can get to the same spot of having your child in your care at all times by taking the quick and easy route, or the long, costly, and adversarial route. As an FYI here are articles regarding custody and parental rights termination. http://www.legalmatch.com/law-librar...al-rights.html http://www.legalmatch.com/law-librar...isitation.html